Grouting assembly



N 1965 D. A. BROWN ETAL GROUTING ASSEMBLY Original Filed Jan. 12, 1962 INVENTORS DONALD A. BROWN Lac/EN R. Dow/v/Na, JR.

ATQ NYS BY ,M

United States Patent 3,218,769 GROUTING ASSEMBLY Donald A. Brown, Westlake, and Lucien R. Downing, Jr.,

Sheffield Lake, Ohio, assignors to Donn Products Incorporated, Westlake, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Original application Jan. 12, 1962, Ser. No. 165,834, now

Patent No. 3,125,193, dated Mar. 17, 1964. Divided and this application June 17, 1963, Ser. No. 294,211 3 Claims. (Cl. 52-400) This is a division of application Serial No. 165,834, filed January 12, 1962, now Patent No. 3,125,193, patented March 17, 1964.

This invention relates to grouting assemblies, and more particularly to a pair of resilient grouting members, which releasably engage and hold a panel within a surrounding frame or partition member.

Briefly, in accordance with this invention the cost of the partition and the complexity and time for assembly and disassembly are materially reduced by providing a frame which can be readily assembled by means of releasable interlocking grouting members. The panels, e.g. glass, are supported and held by the grouting members, which are engaged in a groove placed in surrounding frame members, and which readily release the panels upon removal of one of the grouting members from the frame.

In the annexed drawing, there is shown a preferred embodiment of the present invention which for exemplary purposes is adapted to be employed as a wall extending from the ceiling to the floor, or as a wall which extends only a portion of the distance from the floor to the ceiling.

In the annexed drawing:

The figure is a fragmentary, a partially cut-away and sectioned, perspective view of complements useful in accordance with the present invention.

Referring more particularly to the figure, there is shown a plastic grouting, wherein the respective pair of grouting members 100 and 109, have different cross-sectional con figurations, but which coact together and with a glass panel 96a to fixedly retain the glass panel 96a in the groove 87. The interlocking grouting assembly is composed of the first extruded plastic grouting member 100 having a web 101, a cross engaging flange 102 formed from one marginal edge 101, a groove engaging flange 103 formed at one opposed marginal edge of said web 101, a longitudinal shoulder 104 parallel to said opposed marginal flanges 102 and 103, and an intermediately disposed flange member 105. Intermediate flange 105, which is also disposed in parallel spaced relationship with respect to flanges 102 and 103, is provided in one surface thereof with a longitudinal ridge 106,, which is adapted to engage in interlocking relationship with a corresponding ridge 107 formed on the flang 108 on the coacting grouting member 109. Coacting grouting member 109 is also an extruded plastic material having a general C-shape and comprising a web portion 110, marginal boundaries of which have been bent to form opposed parallel spaced flanges 111 and 108. Flange 111 is adapted to engage the opposite side of glass panel 96a in clamping relationship with flange 102 of grouting member 100. When glass panel 96a is in position as shown in FIG. 1, the thickness of the glass panel 96a exerts a compressive force against the flanges 102 and 111, which in turn further insures the stability of the interlocking relationship between ridges 106 and 107 above described. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the free edge of flange 103 may be bifurcated as shown at 112 to improve retention by the side wall of groove 87.

Thus, there has been provided a grouting assembly which is particularly adapted for use with movable partition systems, and which is extremely simple and provides one of the major factors in reducing cost and time of installation.

Other modes of applying the principle of this invention may be employed instead of those specifically set forth above, changes being made as regard to the details herein disclosed, provided the elements set forth in any of the following claims, or the equivalent of such be employed.

It is, therefore, particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed as the invention:

1. A grouting assembly comprising in combination, a pair of spaced abutments, a panel, a pair of elongated resiliently flexible grouting members coacting between said spaced abutments to receive and hold the edge of said panel in sealing engagement therebetween, one of said members having a web portion with first upper and lower marginal flanges, the lower of said first marginal flanges diverging outwardly from the upper flange and having a greater dimension with an inwardly deformed outer edge forming a first interlocking portion, the other of said members having a web portion with second upper and lower marginal flanges and an intermediate portion projecting in spaced parallel relation between the second marginal flanges, said projecting portion having an inwardly deformed outer edge forming a second interlocking portion, said projecting portion and the lower of said second marginal flanges being successively greater in dimension than the upper of said second marginal flanges, each of said members disposed respectively along the exposed edges of said spaced abutments with their upper flanges projecting toward the other respectively and with the first and second interlocking portions coacting in interlocked relation to support the edge of said panel therealong, and urging the upper of said first marginal flanges and the corresponding upper flange of said second marginal flanges into coacting compression against opposed sides of said panel to hold the panel therebetween, and the lower of said second marginal flanges extending across the space between the abutments with its free extremity in frictional engagement with the opposite abutment to anchor the assembly therein.

2. A grouting assembly comprising in combination a framing member having a groove defining a pair of spaced abutments, a panel, a pair of elongated resiliently flexible grouting members coacting between said spaced abutments to receive and hold the edge of said panel in sealing engagement therebetween, one of said members having a web portion with first upper and lower marginal flanges, the lower of said first marginal flanges diverging outwardly from the upper flange and having a greater dimension with an inwardly deformed outer edge forming a first interlocking portion, the other of said members having a web portion with second upper and lower marginal flanges and in intermediate portion projecting in spaced parallel relation between the second marginal flanges, said projecting portion having an inwardly deformed outer edge forming a second interlocking portion, said projecting portion and the lower of said second marginal flanges being successively greater in dimension than the upper of said second marginal flanges, each of said members disposed respectively along the exposed edges of said spaced abutments with their web portions respectively abutting the framing member adjacent said exposed edges and with their flanges projecting toward the other respectively and with the first and second interlocking portions coacting in interlocked relation to support the edge of said panel therealong, and urging upper of said first marginal flanges and the corresponding upper flange of said second marginal flanges into coacting compression against opposed sides of said panel to hold the panel therebetween, and the lower of said second marginal flanges extending across the 10 space between the abutments with its free extremity in frictional engagement with the opposite abutment to anchor the assembly therein.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1932 Levene. 12/1942 Schiller.

RICHARD W. COOKE, JR., Primary Examiner. 

1. A GROUTING ASSEMBLY COMPRISING IN COMBINATION, A PAIR OF SPACED ABUTMENTS, A PANEL, A PAIR OF ELONGATED RESILIENTLY FLEXIBLE GROUTING MEMBERS COACTING BETWEEN SAID SPACED ABUTMENTS TO RECEIVE AND HOLD THE EDGE OF SAID PANEL IN SEALING ENGAGMENT THEREBETWEEN, ONE OF SAID MEMBERS HAVING A WEB PORTION WITH FIRST UPPER AND LOWER MARGINAL FLANGES, THE LOWER OF SAID FIRST MARGINAL FLANGES DIVERGING OUTWARDLY FROM THE UPPER FLANGE AND HAVING A GREATER DIMENSION WITH AN INWARDLY DEFORMED OUTER EDGE FORMING A FIRST INTERLOCKING PORTION, THE OTHER OF SAID MEMBERS HAVING A WEB PORTION WITH SECOND UPPER AND LOWER MARGINAL FLANGES AND AN INTERMEDIATE PORTION PROJECTING IN SPACED PARALLEL RELATION BETWEEN THE SECOND MARGINAL FLANGES, SAID PROJECTING PORTION HAVING AN INWARDLY DEFORMED OUTER EDGE FORMING A SECOND INTERLOCKING PORTION, SAID PROJECTING PORTION AND THE LOWER OF SAID SECOND MARGINAL FLANGES BEING SUCCESSIVELY GREATER IN DIMENSION THAN THE UPPER OF SAID SECOND MARGINAL FLANGES, EACH OF SAID MEMBERS DISPOSED RESPECTIVELY ALONG THE EXPOSED EDGES OF SAID SPACED ABUTMENTS WITH THEIR UPPER FLANGES PROJECTING TOWARD THE OTHER RESPECTIVELY AND WITH THE FIRST AND SECOND INTERLOCKING PORTIONS COACTING IN INTERLOCKED RELATION TO SUPPORT THE EDGE OF SAID PANEL THEREALONG, AND URGING THE UPPER OF SAID FIRST MARGINAL FLANGES AND THE CORRESPONDING UPPER FLANE OF SAID SECOND MARGINAL FLANGES INTO COACTING COMPRESSION AGAINST OPPOSED SIDES OF SAID PANEL TO HOLD THE PANEL THEREBETWEEN, AND THE LOWER OF SAID SECOND MARGINAL FLANGES EXTENDING ACROSS THE SPACE BETWEEN THE ABUTMENTS WITH ITS FREE EXTREMITY IN FRICTIONAL ENGAGEMENT WITH THE OPPOSITE ABUTMENT TO ANCHOR THE ASSEMBLY THEREIN. 